The Earth seems to have been smoking a lot recently. Volcanoes are currently erupting in Iceland, Hawaii, Indonesia and Mexico. Others, in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, erupted recently but seem…
US President Barack Obama speaks during the Climate Summit 2014 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 23 September 2014.
JUSTIN LANE/EPA
Speaking with Nick Watts, Director of the The Global Climate & Health Alliance, from the UN Climate Summit in New York. Listen in as he explains the links between climate and health, what we have to…
Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and cement-making reached 36 billion tonnes in 2013.
Shutterstock
James Whitmore, The Conversation and Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
The latest report on global carbon emissions released this week revealed that carbon dioxide emissions will likely reach 40 billion tonnes this year. Growth in emissions continues to match the worst-case…
Protesters in New York ahead of the UN climate summit.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/ANDRE RIVERA
Do we need a climate treaty, or could a simple political deal based on national pledges work just as well? Conventional wisdom suggests that the only international climate deal worth having is one that…
The primary goal of home energy efficiency initiatives might be to reduce total energy consumption, but these projects could have a negative impact on public health if we do not take care. Global climate…
A protester at recent Australia climate change rallies in the lead up to the UN climate summit in New York.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/ZOE REYNOLDS
Today more than 120 world leaders are gathered in New York for the Climate Leaders’ Summit. With global emissions continuing to rise, it is easy to be pessimistic. But new research released today shows…
Each of the 125 leaders attending the New York climate summit this week has been given four minutes to speak to the world. They (or their aides) may well have dipped into the climate literature to add…
World greenhouse emissions reached a new record in 2013 and will be even higher in 2014, driven largely by the continued use of fossil fuels such as coal.
nito/Shutterstock
As heads of state gather in New York for tomorrow’s United Nations climate summit, a new report on the state of the world’s carbon budget tells them that greenhouse emissions hit a new record last year…
It is set to be one of the largest ever co-ordinated protests. The People’s Climate March is due to take place in cities all over the world this weekend to try and influence the UN climate summit that…
Nick Stern is back with another report on climate change – colloquially known as Stern 2.0. It’s another offering from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. Since his 2006 review, Stern has…
Economic growth is incompatible with the rapid emissions reductions that are now necessary.
AAP Image/David Crosling
A newly released report called Better Growth, Better Climate draws the seductive conclusion that “we can create lasting economic growth while also tackling the immense risks of climate change”. But while…
Could novels help us fight climate change?
Asian Development Bank/flickr
A frail risk analyst rediscovers his inner frontiersman in a devastating flood that hits Manhattan; an insightful rural woman glimpses the grace of god in the revelations of biological science; genetically…
An idyllic vision of Sydney’s future?
Adriana Verges
Welcome to tropical Sydney, where colourful surgeonfishes and parrotfishes are plentiful, corals have replaced kelp forests, and underwater life seems brighter, more colourful and all-round better. Or…
Sea ice on the Ross Sea - part of Antarctica where the ice is increasing.
Brian Stetson/Flickr
Antarctic winter sea ice has once again broken the record for maximum extent. On September 12, the coverage measured 19.619 million square kilometres, the highest since satellite records began. The ice…
Australian resources are fueling Asia’s development, but the next challenge is to make that sustainable.
EPA/Bagus Indahono
If measured by political will and rhetoric, Australia’s relationship with Southeast Asia would undeniably be in fine shape. Prime ministers as diverse as Paul Keating, Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard have…
Prize winner Lesley Hughes was praised for her work on explaining climate change.
Flickr/Climate Commission
An ecologist’s work to explain the impact of climate change to as wide an audience as possible has been awarded one of this year’s Eureka Prizes. The annual Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, announced Wednesday…
The world’s economy is becoming less carbon-intensive, but not nearly fast enough.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
James Whitmore, The Conversation and Michael Hopkin, The Conversation
The world is falling far behind in its bid to curb greenhouse emissions enough to limit global warming to 2C, according to two new reports. For the sixth year running, the world has failed to meet the…
Coalmining poses risks that can’t be managed away.
AAP Image/Incident Control Centre Hazelwood
Fittingly for a report on a huge fire, the findings of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry act as a smokescreen for the bigger issues behind the disaster. Partly because of its narrow terms of reference, the…
A new study finds overwhelming odds that humans have contributed to higher global temperatures – so how much are we willing to gamble that it’s wrong?
Kraevski Vitaly/Shutterstock
Over the past week or so, the Bureau of Meteorology has stood accused of fudging its temperature data records to emphasise warming, in a series of articles in The Australian. The accusation hinges on the…